The Butterfly Effect
by shishir
Summary: This story is about how a few small changes in the beginning of Naruto's shinobi career can result in a huge difference in the way Naruto's life plays out. Naruto understands the seriousness of being a shinobi and decides to drop his emotional mask. Abandoned. Will rewrite. Sorry.
1. Chater 1 Becoming Gennin

**Summary**

The Butterfly Effect is a story about how a few small changes in the beginning of Naruto's shinobi career can result in a huge difference in the way Naruto's life plays out. Naruto gets serious about becoming a shinobi and starts learning at a rapid pace to make u for all the time he wasted while in the academy.

**Timeline and setting**

I follow the following rules in my story -

Students generally graduate at 12.

Naruto is 14 since he failed the academy exams twice. His other classmates are 12.

Kurenai became genin at 12, was promoted to chuunin at 14 and to jounin recently at 18.

Chuunin exams are held once every 2 years. Gai's team graduated one year before Naruto's team, but Gai held them back from participating in the exams held the current year for gaining more experience.

The next chuunin exams will be held in 2 years.

**Disclaimer**

I do not own Naruto the series or any characters within it. I do not seek to profit in any way from this story. It is merely a piece written for personal satisfaction and others' reading pleasure.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

After 30 minutes of continuous running, Naruto arrived at a forest clearing holding a large scroll with the kanji for 'forbidden' written on it. He just sat there for a few minutes trying to catch his breath before opening the scroll.

"Let's see here… what kind of jutsus this scroll has…" said Naruto quietly to himself as he began to read.

_Kage Bunshin_

_Kage Bunshin is an A class kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) due to its high chakra requirements and the potential dangers in using it. This technique allows the user to create a solid clone as opposed to just an illusion. The clones are made up of pure chakra and have the capability to think independently, fight, or do any task as they are ordered._

_Benefits: The clones can fight independently of the original. They can be used for multitasking, thus saving a lot of time. The greatest benefit of this technique is that the original learns whatever the clone learns. Thus if a clone reads a book, the original will remember reading it once the clone is dispelled._

_Cons: The downside of using this technique is that it divides the user's chakra equally between all the clones. Thus, if a person with a low chakra capacity uses this technique, he/she pay pass out due to chakra exhaustion, or may even die. The other downside is that if too many clones are dispelled at the same time, the amount of information flowing to the original may cause a backlash of sorts and result in severe mental injury to the user._

_Seals: Ram_

_Directions: Form the seal…_

"So lets see… solid clones… fighting and learning capabilities… equal chakra… should not dispel too many at the same time…" said Naruto in the same quiet voice after reading about the technique.

"Now to actually use it…"

--== ( Time skip: 1 hour later ) ==--

A panting and ragged Naruto lay in the middle of the clearing with an excessively pleased expression on this face. Realizing that he didn't have the time or the energy to practice any more techniques from the scroll, he took out a small notebook and a pen and copied down all details related to some of the techniques complementary to the Kage Bunshin.

A few minutes after he was done Iruka arrived at the scene to see a ragged Naruto with the forbidden scroll beside him.

"NARUTO!!! Why the hell did you steal the Forbidden scroll from the Hokage's office?? What the hell were you thinking?" yelled Iruka as he closed in on Naruto.

[ Events as in canon ]

--== ( Time skip: 1 hour later ) ==--

"Lets go to Hokage-sama's office and return the scroll…" said Iruka softly

Naruto merely nodded and released Iruka from the crushing hug.

--== ( Hokage's office ) ==--

The Hokage puffed his pipe while he pondered over the series of events as told to him by Naruto. There was no doubt about the authenticity of the story. He had seen the events unfold through his crystal glass orb. He had seen Mizuki confess about manipulating Naruto into stealing the scroll. He had also seen him reveal the secret about the Kyuubi's sealing. The city council was screaming for some punishment for Naruto. Stealing a forbidden scroll from the Hokage's office was not a small crime. Had Naruto done this out of his own volition, even the Hokage would have ensured that the punishment be severe, regardless of how much he adored Naruto. But he knew that Naruto merely assumed that a teacher would never lie to him. Even the Hokage believed that if the young could not trust their own senseis, then there is no one left to trust. But he also had to ensure that such an event would never be repeated again.

"Naruto…" the Hokage began softly. "I cannot find words to tell you about the severity of the events that occurred today. The scrolls are forbidden for a reason. Should Mizuki have escaped with it, the situation would have been disastrous."

As the Hokage spoke, Naruto's shoulders sagged as he felt that he had disappointed his leader. The old man was one of the very few who had ever supported him, stood up for him, or showed him any kind of affection. To disappoint him was not something he could bear. He felt like his heart was about to explode with sorrow and shame.

Iruka was speechless. He was sitting beside Naruto and had expected him to be let off easily seeing that it wasn't his fault, but it seemed that Naruto was going to be punished for his actions. He was about to say something, when the Hokage raised his hand in his direction commanding him subtly to remain quiet.

"You let Mizuki manipulate you into stealing the scroll. As an aspiring ninja of Konoha, you should have seen through his manipulations…" the Hokage continued "however, when you realized the truth about the situation, you chose to do what is right and protected not only the scroll, but also Iruka sensei to the best of your abilities. By doing this you have made me very proud Naruto…"

At this Naruto's head shot up as he looked into the old man's eyes only to see happiness and pride instead of anger and shame. He could not hold it in any longer. The sorrow and shame that seemed to overwhelm him broke through and he jumped towards the Hokage and latched onto his waist, burying his face into the old man's cloak, he cried his heart out all the while promising him that he would never do something so stupid again.

The Hokage consoled him by running his hand through his hair and offering words of comfort. Iruka smiled softly on seeing this, as he realized what the Hokage was trying to do.

After Naruto was back in his seat the Hokage continued, "Mizuki has been termed a traitor to Konoha and his punishment will be decided after he is stabilized. He is currently being moved to the prisoner section of Konoha Hospital under guard. Had Mizuki escaped, a B rank mission would have been issued to retrieve the scroll and eliminate Mizuki. Therefore, you'll be getting a B rank mission pay as the reward for capturing Mizuki." Naruto smiled softly upon hearing this.

"The council is demanding some punishment for you…" Naruto paled upon hearing this and his eyes widened. Iruka tried to interrupt but was stalled by the speaker. The Hokage chuckled upon seeing their faces and continued "… and I think 5 D rank missions will have to do…" Naruto's face relaxed upon hearing this. "… without pay…" Naruto winced but was still relieved. "… with Tora." It was Iruka who now winced and looked towards the young shinobi with pity while the person in question just looked confused.

"So I get some money as a reward, and I have to do a bunch of D rank missions without pay?" asked Naruto.

The Hokage merely nodded and asked, "Now Naruto… how does it feel to be a genin?"

Naruto gave a dazzling grin while replying enthusiastically "OH YEAH!!! Finally… I passed. I can't wait to do actual missions."

"Good… Now… lets see which techniques you copied from the scroll." said the Hokage.

Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, while Iruka yelled "NARUTO!! You can't just copy jutsus from the forbidden scroll."

Naruto handed over his notebook with a pout. The Hokage went over the jutsus and determined that the jutsus were only complementary to the Kage Bunshin and not very dangerous for Naruto to learn due to his rather large chakra reserves. He said "Well Naruto… I'll let you have these jutsus on the condition that you will not teach them to anyone who is below the rank of jounin, and you'll be very careful with them as they could really hurt someone."

Iruka gaped at the Hokage while Naruto cheered "ALRIGHT!! You're the best jiji."

The Hokage just chuckled. He handed over a check to Naruto with the reward amount on it. Naruto looked at it and exploded "WHAT??!! You get this much for a B rank mission?? I can buy all I need with this kind of money…" His face then dimmed ever so slightly but the Hokage caught it, and asked, "Is there something wrong Naruto?"

"Nothing jiji" Naruto smiled, but the Hokage saw through the act easily. He had seen Naruto use it so many times over the years that he had become quite adept at recognizing it. He said, "Come on Naruto… I thought after all these years you trusted me. You know you can tell me anything right?"

"Its just that I want to buy so many things but the shopkeepers refuse to sell me anything, or overcharge me for poor quality material… but its okay… don't bother with it…" said Naruto.

The Hokage frowned a bit and replied with a soft smile "Why don't you come to my office tomorrow morning at 9 and I'll take you to an old friend of mine for a little shopping."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Thanks jiji."

"No problem Naruto… now go home and get some rest."

As Naruto was about to get up he asked with a very sad voice "ne jiji… am I a… monster?"

The Hokage sighed. He had been expecting that question sooner. He replied "Tell me Naruto… if you put a rock in a bag, does the bag become a rock?"

"No but…"

"Similarly, you are the Kyuubi's jailer… not Kyuubi itself. You do great service to Konoha everyday by preventing the Kyuubi from getting free. The people fail to see the difference and hence treat you the way they do. In time I'm sure they will come to see you for who you really are. Don't lose faith in them Naruto. I can't tell you why you were chosen for this task till you get a little older, but know this… the Yondaime believed in you and trusted you to protect the village he died protecting. His last wish was for you to be treated as a hero… but the memories of that day are still fresh in peoples' mind. A lot of people died that day. It will take time for people to get over that. Meanwhile, work hard and get stronger. Protect the village, and remember… the knowledge if the Kyuubi's sealing is an S class secret. Do not reveal it to any one you don't trust absolutely."

"Thanks jiji." Replied Naruto as he turned and left.

The Hokage sighed and said to an apparently empty room "You can come out now."

A woman appeared in a corner of the office as the genjutsu hiding her was dropped.

"Its not polite to eavesdrop on the Hokage's conversations Kurenai…" said the Hokage.

"Gomen-nasai Hokage-sama. I happened to follow Uzumaki Naruto on his way here just to keep an eye on him and ended up here." replied the woman.

"Quite a kid isn't he?"

"Indeed Hokage-sama."

"Is there anything you need?"

"No, Hokage-sama"

"Then you are dismissed."

"Good night Hokage-sama"

The woman disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

--== ( The next morning ) ==--

The next morning Naruto reported at 9 and was taken to a ninja goods store, on the other side of town, by the Hokage. As they entered the store Naruto drooled at the items kept on display, while an old man who was probably the shopkeeper looked up and said "Ah… good to see you Hiruzen. What brings you here this fine morning?"

Naruto looked at the shopkeeper in awe. He didn't think anyone in the village called the Hokage by his first name.

"Just bringing you a new customer, Aki"

Aki looked at Naruto and said "Uzumaki Naruto, right?"

Naruto took on a guarded expression and replied uncertainly "Hai…"

The shopkeeper noticed this and smiled saying, "Don't worry Naruto. I am not like the other villagers. You are always welcome here whenever you need anything."

Naruto relaxed and replied "Thanks ojisan."

The Hokage seeing that Naruto was okay now, said "Okay Naruto. Take your time. Buy anything you need, okay? I have to get back to work. Remember, you can always come to me with anything that might bother you. And don't forget, the team allocation is at 10AM at the academy in a week. And come see me at 9 tomorrow for the missions. Okay?"

"Hai… thanks jiji."

The Hokage just waved and left saying, "Take care of him Aki. I'll see you around."

Aki then looked at Naruto with a smile and asked, "So Naruto, what can I do for you?"

Naruto replied, "Well ojisan, you see, I just became a ninja and I need new stuff like weapons and clothes."

"Hmm… okay… lets do the weapons first… which weapons do you prefer?"

"Umm… I don't know… kunais and shurikens I guess…"

"Hmm… that's pretty basic… lets see… a set of 50 kunais and 100 shurikens…"

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing that and said, "I can't afford that much ojisan… I only have this much money…" as he handed over his reward check to Aki.

Aki looked at it with a surprise and said "You don't need this much to stock yourself up, Naruto."

"You don't huh?" said Naruto as they both realized that the other shopkeepers had always cheated him.

"No you don't. Now don't worry. I'll fix you right up with exactly what you need. Now… apart from the shurikens and kunais, do you plan to use any other weapons?"

"I don't know…"

"How's your taijutsu?"

"Uhh…" Naruto said with a sheepish grin, which basically conveyed everything that Aki needed to know.

"Hmm… so you suck at taijutsu…"

"HEY!!!"

"How about a sword?"

"Really? You think I can learn how to use one?"

"Of course. You'll have to work hard, but with enough practice, you can be good at anything you wish. Most people believe that you have to be really good at taijutsu to be a good swordsman, but that is not true. Some of the world's best swordsmen suck at taijutsu."

"Cool!! I'll try a sword"

"Good… what kind?"

"Umm… I don't know… You're the weapons expert. What kind do you suggest?"

Aki chuckled at that and said, "Good answer Naruto. You see, most people waltz in here to buy a sword and just go for a cool looking one regardless of whether it may suit them or not. Lets see… What is your element?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, what chakra affinity do you have?"

"Huh?"

"I see… follow me."

Aki took Naruto to the counter and took out a blank piece of paper and handed it to him. "Flow some chakra through that paper." He said.

As Naruto did as asked, the paper split into two before the two parts burned into ashes, startling him.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"You see, Naruto, every person has one or more chakra affinities. It means the element that your chakra most responds to. The paper I gave you is a special paper, which is used to detect which chakra affinities a person has. Usually a person of your age has only one chakra affinity. You have two. The paper split into two, indicating an affinity to wind, and caught fire, indicating an affinity to fire. Having 2 affinities at your age is rare but not unheard of. It just means that wind and fire jutsus will be easier for you to perform. It's actually quite a good combination if you learn to mix them well. With this information, I can choose a blade for you, which will respond well to wind or fire natured chakra. Mostly wind, because there is nothing sharper in this world than some well molded wind."

"Sugoi!!!"

"Yeah. You should read more about these things in the library."

"As if they'll allow me in there…" Naruto muttered quietly. Aki caught it and frowned, but let it go for now.

He went into an adjacent room and returned with a wooden case in his hand. He opened it to reveal a sparkling silver sword. It had a wide blade, 2 and a half feet long, which tapered towards the tip up to a certain length, where it ended with a triangular tip. The blade looked like it was made up of pure silver with a whitish tinge to it, and looked sharp enough to slice anything in half on just touching it. The hilt was black with gold linings on it. It had quite a regal appearance. The guard was a golden disc with kanji for wind engraved on it. The sheath was royal blue in color with a clip at the open end of it to hold the sword in position. All in all, it was quite simple, yet it had a royal look about it. It was one of the most beautiful things Naruto had ever seen.

Naruto looked at it in awe. Aki chuckled and said, "Go ahead."

Naruto picked it up with shaking hands, as if afraid to break it. It seemed perfect. Like it was designed for him. Aki smiled seeing this and Naruto kept the blade back in the case.

"Okay… so what else do you need?"

Three hours later Naruto had finally finished his shopping. The counter now had the shuriken and kunai set, his sword, 2 bundles of explosive notes, storage scrolls, shoulder pads, shin guards, knee pads, elbow guards, dark blue torso armor, 4 sets of black pants, some shirts of different colors, a basic first aid kit, shoes with metal toe guards, some casual clothes, a bunch of blank scrolls and notebooks, and training weights.

Naruto gaped at the stack, then looked at Aki and asked "Ojisan, are you sure I can afford all that?"

"Of course, Naruto." Aki replied.

"Okay… so how much do I owe you?"

After spending some time calculating the bill, Aki said "120,000 ryo."

"WHAT??!! Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Wow… I still have 80,000 ryo left."

B rank missions paid anywhere between 150,000 to 200,000 ryo, which was divided into 5 parts of 20 percent each. 1 part went to the Konoha treasury, while the remaining 4 parts were divided between the members of the team, usually 4. Since the mission for which Naruto had been paid was issued by the Konoha government itself, there was no cut for Konoha on it. Plus, since he had completed the mission by himself, he received the entire amount.

"Thanks a lot, ojisan."

"You're welcome, Naruto. Oh and before you leave, could you please collect your sword in a week? I need to make a few adjustments to it before you use it."

"Sure, ojisan."

"Oh and Naruto…"

"Hai?"

"For your library or general shopping problem… use a henge." Said Aki with a chuckle as Naruto looked at him slack jawed before muttering "Genius."

--== ( Next Day at the Hokage's office ) ==--

"Are you here for the D rank mission, Naruto?" asked the Hokage.

"Hai jiji" replied Naruto.

The Hokage took out a scroll and handed it to Naruto saying, "Your mission is to find and retrieve Tora the cat unharmed. Tora is the Daimyo's wife's cat, and its quite fond of running away from the house."

"That's it? Find a cat? All right!! I'll be done in no time."

"We'll see…" said an amused Hokage with a semi-sadistic grin on his face, which scared Naruto slightly.

--== ( 3 Days Later – Hokage's Office ) ==--

Kurenai was just about to enter the Hokage's office when she saw a yellow blur go by her into the office. The next thing she saw was Naruto, wearing ragged clothes, down on his knees in front of the Hokage yelling, "I'm so sorry jiji for all the stupid things I've done in my life. Please forgive me. I promise I won't ever do such things again. But please please PLEASE forget about the punishment. I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!! It's not a cat… it's a monster!! AAAHHH!!!"

Kurenai giggled, which turned into a full-blown laughter, while the Hokage looked on amused. Naruto just sat on the ground with a pout.

"Oh my… I haven't laughed like that for a long time now. But you know Naruto, its disrespectful to just barge into the Hokage-sama's office…" said Kurenai

"Ahh… don't worry about it Kurenai-san. I only do that when I know that its okay…" said Naruto sheepishly.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow and asked, "You know who I am?"

"But of course… Yuuhi Kurenai… A rank jounin… also know as the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha… Major strength: Genjutsu. Major weakness: Taijutsu. It is said that your targets find themselves already caught in a genjutsu by the time they realize that you're around. The bounty on your head was recently increased to 5 million ryo." Replied Naruto.

By the time Naruto finished speaking Kurenai's and Hokage's eyebrows looked like they were trying to merge with the hairline.

"How do you know all that, Naruto?" asked the Hokage.

"The Bingo book, where else?"

"And why would my name be in the bingo book?" asked a confused Kurenai.

"Not the Konoha Bingo book… the Kiri Bingo book, Kurenai-san" replied Naruto.

'Amazing… most genins don't even know about the bingo book till they become chuunin.' thought Kurenai.

"Where did you get a bingo book, Naruto?" asked the Hokage.

"The library, of course"

"The library copy is not allowed to be viewed by genins, Naruto"

"You'll be surprised by the number of ninja who fail to see through a simple henge, jiji"

The Hokage frowned on hearing that and thought 'Note to self: upgrade village security.'

"So, you need something Naruto?"

"Nah… I was just bored so I thought I'd come see you. I just delivered the cat for the fourth time in 3 days. I'm now trying to come up with a plan to murder the cat and get away with it." Said Naruto with a chuckle.

Kurenai laughed lightly, while the Hokage just chuckled on hearing that.

"I'll let you get back to work jiji. Sorry about eating into your time Kurenai-san." Continued Naruto.

"No problem, Naruto. By the way, we haven't been formally introduced. I'm Yuuhi Kurenai." Said Kurenai while extending her hand forward.

"Lovely meeting you, Kurenai-san. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He replied shaking her hand, after which he just waved at the two and left.

"I can't decide if he is hyperactive or just plain energetic." Said Kurenai.

"At the moment, he was just energetic. He used to put up an act to hide his true emotions. He has grown after the Mizuki incident." Said the Hokage.

"You're quite fond of him aren't you, Hokage-sama?"

"I don't play favorites, Kurenai, but yeah. Sometimes he just makes my day. You know this one time, when he was 5, I was in a very boring meeting here with Hyuuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku, and Naruto barged in here completely naked, waving his underwear around, followed by a couple of ANBU who were trying to catch him. When asked about it, he just said that somebody stole all his clothes leaving him with only that underwear, and nobody believed him so he thought he should go to the Hokage to complain about it. The looks on Fugaku's and Hiashi's face were priceless." Said the Hokage, laughing lightly.

Kurenai was laughing so hard that she couldn't catch her breath.

After a while the Hokage asked her "So what can I do for you today, Kurenai?"

--== ( 3 days later, in the Hokage's office ) ==--

10 jounins were gathered in the Hokage's office, along with Iruka.

"I suppose you have spent the last few days thinking about who you would prefer to have on your teams. Lets finalize the list of teams now." Said the Hokage.

People believed that the teams were chosen on the basis of their academy scores. This was not true. The common belief that the dead last of the class was placed with the rookie of the year came into being because people only made requests for specific members of the team, and since nobody generally asked for a weak student, they were allocated where they would balance the teams the best.

This year too most jounins did not have any specific preferences. Only a few did.

Hatake Kakashi came forward and said "I would like to have Uchiha Sasuke on my team. I believe I can train him well and also help him awaken his sharingan."

"A logical choice…" said the Hokage. "Do you have any preferences for the other two teammates?"

"No sir."

"Okay then. Asuma? How about you?"

"I don't have any preferences as such. I guess I can take the Ino-Shika-Chou team." replied Asuma.

"Hmm… I'm not planning to have that team this year. I do not wish to repeat the same patterns again. Any person who has done some research on the past Konoha teams would know how to perfectly counter teams based on such patterns."

The jounins nodded at that, seeing the logic behind the train of thought.

"Anyone else has any preferences?" continued the Hokage.

Kurenai came forward and said "Hokage-sama, I would like to have Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto as my team."

Some of the jounins present snorted on hearing that. Some chuckled.

"You actually want the dead-last of the class to be on your team?" asked Asuma.

The remaining jounins nodded while Kurenai, Iruka, and the Hokage frowned upon hearing that.

"I will not have that kind of talk in my office." Said the Hokage, which silenced everybody at once.

"I assumed that you would go for a recon team, Kurenai" continued the Hokage.

"A pure recon team consisting only of trackers would be weak when actually faced against an enemy, Hokage-sama. I intend to make an all round team with abilities to execute any kind of mission."

"I still don't understand your choice of students. Why would you ask for the weakest student?" Said Kakashi.

"Yamanaka Ino will be quite helpful in interrogating enemies thanks to her clan jutsus. Nara Shikamaru may have poor grades in class, but the Nara family is known for its strategic mind. I have confirmed this with his father. Shikamaru is quite adept at plotting out strategies to solve any problems. And lastly, Uzumaki Naruto. While he may be untrained at the moment, he will do well with under guidance. He is a frontline fighter type. If he works hard, he can become quite strong."

The Hokage smiled upon hearing that, and Iruka beamed, while the remaining jounins shook their heads.

"Okay. I suppose no body has any problems with that?" asked the Hokage.

No body replied.

"Excellent. If there are no other suggestions, we will finalize the teams today and you can meet them tomorrow at the academy at 10 AM the day after tomorrow. Dismissed."

--== ( 8:30 AM the next morning. ) ==--

Naruto arrived on time at Aki's shop to collect his sword. The old shop keeper saw him and waved him in. He presented Naruto with the sword case and asked him to open it. Naruto opened it and gasped.

Golden kanji was embedded, on the royal blue sheath, along its length, which said 'Uzumaki Naruto'.

Aki smiled as Naruto suddenly caught him in a hug, and said, "Think of it as a gift for making my day last week Naruto, and remember, you're always welcome here. Now go. Sarutobi is probably expecting you."

Naruto bounded down the street towards the Hokage's office after thanking the old shopkeeper profusely, and promising to come back soon.

Naruto arrived at his office at 9. On seeing him, the Hokage's secretary said with a grin "maa maa Naruto… somebody is looking handsome today…" The Hokage's secretary had always been friendly with him.

Naruto just blushed and returned the grin before entering the office. The Hokage looked him over and gave an approving nod at his choice of clothing. He had chosen not to wear his new clothes before the team allotment.

"Hey jiji… look what Aki-ojisan did for me…" said Naruto with a dazzling smile on his face, as he showed the Hokage his new sword along with the sheath.

The Hokage held the blade in his hand and returned it after giving it a test wave he said, "That's a good sword you have there Naruto. Are you planning to learning kenjutsu?"

"Hai. You think I can do it?"

"Yes I do, Naruto. I think you can excel at anything you set your mind to."

"Thanks jiji."

"Now, the reason I called you here today is because I wanted to talk to you before you meet your new team."

"Sure jiji. What about?"

"You see, Naruto, you are now a ninja of Konoha. You'll face real dangers during missions. It's not like the academy anymore. The opponents you face now will aim to kill, not just to test you. Mistakes can be fatal during missions. Not just for you, but also for your team. You understand that don't you?"

Naruto caught the serious tone of the Hokage and thought about what was said for a moment before replying "Hai jiji. I understand."

"Good Naruto. I want you to be very careful when you go out for missions. You once asked me what it means to be Hokage. Remember what I told you? It means to protect the members of your village. Everyone. Regardless of whether or not you like them. Well, you start with your team, Naruto. Become strong so that you can protect not only yourself, but also, your teammates during missions. Work hard so that you don't make any mistakes. Can you do that Naruto?"

"Hai jiji."

"Good. Your new sensei has specifically requested you for her team. Work Hard, Naruto, and become strong. Make me and your new sensei proud, Naruto."

That was the final push he needed. As he thought about the possibility of disappointing jiji again, his face took on a determined expression. He would work hard. He would become strong. He would protect his team, and his precious people.

"Hai jiji."

The Hokage smiled softly up on seeing the expression on his face and said "Good, Naruto. Now, go on. Enjoy your day. Tomorrow you'll be allotted to your new team."

"Hai. Who is my new sensei, jiji?"

"You'll know when you meet her, Naruto."

"I never really asked you jiji… what happened to Mizuki?"

The Hokage sighed and said, "He died before reaching the hospital Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened on hearing that. He looked lost for a moment before he got up and said, "I see… I'll see you around, jiji"

"Are you okay, Naruto? You know you can talk to me, right?"

"I'm fine, jiji. I just need time to let it sink in." said Naruto as he left.

--== ( Later that day ) ==--

Kurenai was enjoying a walk around the training grounds when she came across Naruto sitting on a log with an empty expression on his face. Naruto didn't even seem to notice her as she approached him.

"Hey Naruto… what're you doing?"

Naruto looked up with a grin, that didn't seem to reach his eyes, and said "Oh, hey Kurenai-san. Nothing. Just thinking."

Kurenai saw through the act and remembered the Hokage telling her about it. Being a genjutsu specialist, she was quite adept at reading people's emotions. "What's wrong, Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto's smile faltered before he schooled his expression again and said "Nothing at all, Kurenai-san. Why do you ask?"

"Come now, Naruto, I thought we were friends. Tell me what is bothering you. May be I'll be able to help you."

Naruto just stayed silent. Kurenai decided to give him the time he needed. After a few minutes she notices a tear drop make its way down his face as he said "I really am a monster…"

Kurenai frowned upon hearing that and sat beside him asking him "And what made you come to that conclusion?"

"Mizuki never made it to the hospital that day."

Kurenai finally understood what he was thinking about. He had just learned that he had made his first kill a week back. Kurenai remembered her first kill perfectly and also remembered her reaction to it. She decided to tell him the same thing her sensei had told her.

"You are not a monster, Naruto."

"But…"

"Tell me, Naruto, what do you think would have happened if Mizuki had escaped with the scroll? He could have become really powerful by learning some of the more advanced techniques from it. Or he could have sold it to someone like Orochimaru, which would have been worse."

Naruto, of course, knew who Orochimaru was thanks to the bingo books he had read.

"But…"

"Tell me, Naruto… why do you wish to be a shinobi?"

"Huh?"

"Think and tell me."

After a moment of thinking, he replied, "To become stronger. To have enough strength to protect those who are special to me. And to become the Hokage, eventually, so that I can protect the entire village. I was supposed to be about protecting people. Not killing them…"

"Then tell me, Naruto, would you have been happy if one of your loved ones were to be killed by a person, who you could have killed earlier? What would you do if the only way to protect your special people was to kill the enemy?"

She could see the understanding dawn in his eyes. She said, "Sometimes it is necessary to kill your enemies, Naruto. So that they don't harm you, or your loved ones later. That is the world we live in. Mizuki chose to betray the village. Could you have lived with yourself if Iruka died because you refused to kill? Make no mistake, Naruto, he would have killed both you and Iruka that night if he had the chance."

Naruto finally understood what she was trying to say. He sat silent for a while, thinking about it. Kurenai just sat silently beside him as she saw his expression grow more determined every second.

"I think I understand… I need some more time to think this over."

Kurenai stood to leave and said "Do that, Naruto, and take care of yourself." She disappeared in a swirl of leaves before he could thank her.

--== ( The next day - 10 AM – The Academy ) ==--

Naruto walked into the class, deep I thought. All activity ceased as the students stared at him. He was known to be an annoying loudmouth who would always wear an ugly orange dress, and yell something stupid as soon as he entered the class. The class did not know that his annoying loudmouth personality was just an act to gain some acknowledgement. That is not to say that hew wasn't cheery or energetic by nature. But he did take it to an obnoxious level to get some attention.

The Naruto they saw before them was shocking. Quite a few students looked at him with slack jaws. No one had ever seen him wear anything apart from orange. He was wearing a black pant, a gray shirt with his blue armor on it. He had a kunai pouch strapped to his right thigh, a belt with several storage pouches on it, and a sword strapped to his back with golden kanji on it denoting his name.

What was even more shocking was that he hadn't said a word since he came into the class. He was merely lost in his thoughts as he walked towards the back of the class and sat beside Shikamaru.

Shikamaru too had noticed the change but didn't ask anything because he was too lazy. He merely said, "I thought you failed." To which Naruto replied, "Nah. They passed me later." That was the extent of the conversation before both Naruto and Shikamaru rested their heads on the desk and waited for Iruka to arrive.

Naruto had gotten over his guilt yesterday itself. He was mainly thinking about all the time he wasted over the years, and all the annoying things did to do to attract attention. He looked at his classmates who had now resumed their previous activities. His gaze fell on Sakura and as he analyzed all his previous interaction with her he realized how he always looked like a puppy pining for some attention from her despite the fact that she hit him or insulted him at every chance she got. He decided that he would have to get over her and quit some of his more annoying habits so that he could concentrate more on learning.

The students became quiet when Iruka arrived in class.

"Ne Iruka sensei, why is Naruto-baka here if he failed?" asked Sakura.

"Geez… isn't it obvious that I passed since I'm wearing a hitai-ate? I wonder how you topped the written exams if you can't even figure that out…" replied Naruto.

Sakura's eyes widened up on hearing that. She had never imagined that Naruto would actually insult her. The class too was shocked. It was well known that he had an epic crush on Sakura.

Shikamaru snorted and said, "I really don't think mugging up everything the book says requires any brains."

Sakura paled as she wondered what was going on, while the class just gaped at them shamelessly. Shikamaru had never actively said much in class apart from his usual 'Mendoukusei'. For him to actually respond to something said in class, and actually insult someone was just plain shocking.

Sakura regained her bearings and screeched "SHUT UP NARUTO-BAKA!!! I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU!"

"URUSAI!!! Will you please stop screeching like a banshee!!" said an irritated Naruto while unknowingly releasing some killing intent. It wasn't enough to faze Iruka, but genins who had never experienced it before shut up and maintained silence. Sakura was scared. She merely shrunk into herself and sat quietly in her seat after muttering a meek "sorry".

Sitting beside him Shikamaru said "Finally some peace and quiet. Thanks Naruto."

"No problem" said Naruto as he relaxed and the small KI disappeared.

"Moving on…" said Iruka who had been watching the events so far with an amused expression.

"Naruto was given his hitai-ate to signify his passing as a reward when he caught a traitor chuunin and defeated him." Continued Iruka.

The class looked at Naruto with awe as someone asked, "Who was the traitor, Iruka sensei?"

"Mizuki" replied Iruka.

The class gasped as someone asked, "What happened to him?"

Iruka looked at Naruto as if asking whether he should tell them. Naruto merely shrugged, and Iruka replied, "He is dead. He succumbed to the injuries shortly after fighting Naruto."

The class gasped again as they looked towards Naruto with expressions like shock, awe, disbelief, fear, and respect clearly visible on their faces.

"Now… onto the team assignments…" continued Iruka "Team 1: …"

[Team 1 to 6 announced here.]

"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Inuzuka Kiba. Your jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." said Iruka.

Sakura cheered upon hearing her name. Kiba swore something about being stuck with emos and fan-girls.

"Team 8: Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. Your jounin sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai"

Hinata felt sad that she wasn't on the same team as Naruto. Ino sighed thinking 'Great. Just my luck to be teamed up with a lazy ass and the dead-last.' Shikamaru merely shrugged and said "Not bad…" which caused the students to gape again. Naruto just smiled softly and looked pleased.

"Team 9 is still in active duty. Team 10: Hyuuga Hinata, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino. Your jounin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma."

After announcing all the teams, Iruka left saying "Well, that's it. Please wait here for your jounin senseis to collect you."

After a few minutes a group of jounins arrived and took their teams with them. Only two teams remained - Team 7 and 8.

Yuuhi Kurenai entered the class and looked around. She saw Kiba checking her out and thought '_Thank god I didn't get the pervert on my team._'

She saw Naruto and gave him a smile saying "Hey Naruto"

Kiba looked green with envy, while Naruto replied "Hey Kurenai-chan" with a grin.

She noted the '-chan' suffix and smiled softly. She then flicked a finger on his forehead and said "Kurenai-_sensei_, Naruto"

'_Kawaii_' thought Kurenai when Naruto blushed deeply and replied "Hai" with an even wider grin that threatened to split his face in half.

'_Hmm… he seems to be fine today… looks like he got over his guilt… good…_' she thought as she looked at her other two students and nodded to each with a small smile saying "Follow me Team 8. We are going out for lunch."

--== ( End of Chapter 1 ) ==--


	2. Chapter 2 Training

**Replies to reviews of previous chapter**

Thanks a lot for all your reviews. This is the first time I'm writing a story (fan-fiction or otherwise), and I look towards you all for guidance and improvements. Now, to answer a few questions asked in the reviews:

Naru/Kure is a pairing, and not just friendship. It'll take some time for them to realize that they like each other. Kurenai considers Naruto a friend, but he still _is_ her student, and 4 years younger. Naruto, currently, cares for her because she is one of the few people who acknowledge him.

There will be no other Naruto pairing.

I like the concept of having a strong Naruto. The story, as it flows in canon, is too focused on Sasuke for my taste. Sasuke this, Sasuke that, etc. Most of Naruto's victories are shown as either dumb luck, or something like Kyuubi takes over, or he summons a toad. Also, he does not really have a lot of techniques of his own. They might as well name the story 'Sasuke' instead of 'Naruto'.

At the same time, I do not like stories in which Naruto becomes super strong overnight.

Naruto, in my story, will become quite strong by the time the chuunin exams begin. They are still 2 years away, and it is achievable considering his current training pace, thanks to his kage bunshins. I will try to spread out his gain of power as much as I can.

There might be a hint of OOC-ness in the story as it progresses, but I've tried to minimize it as far as possible.

I spell-check my stories before publishing them, but no matter how hard I try, some mistakes always go through. If you do come across any errors, please feel free to point them out and I'll try my best to correct them.

**Disclaimer**

I do not own Naruto the series, or any characters within it. I do not seek to profit in any way from this story. It is merely a piece written for my personal satisfaction and others' reading pleasure.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The team and their jounin sensei reached a moderately fancy restaurant named 'Niwaki'. Naruto stopped as they were about to enter. Kurenai noted his obvious hesitation and said, "Don't worry Naruto. I know the owner of this place. Come."

The restaurant had a quaint atmosphere. The tables were set at knee height, and mats were placed instead of chairs. The mats themselves looked quite soft and comfortable, and had bolsters placed on either sides for support and comfort. The tables in the middle of the restaurant were squares and circles alternatively, whereas the ones next to the walls were oval shaped, meant to seat 6 to 8 people. Small bonsai trees, of varying styles, were placed at the centre of each table. Spherical lights hung from the ceiling, over each table, emitting a soft yellowish light. All in all, the atmosphere was quite inviting.

The group picked a table and placed their orders, after which Kurenai decided to begin the conversation, saying, "So… we're going to be working together for quite a while now. Let us introduce ourselves. I'll go first. I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. I was recently promoted to jounin, and this is the first team I'm taking under my wing. I like to read, cook, and try out various cuisines. I love genjutsu with a passion. I have several goals, one of which is to make this the best genin team of Konoha. I hate perverts, bigots, and sexists."

She nodded towards Ino indicating that she should go next.

"Umm… I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like flowers and Sasuke-kun. I dislike Forehead-girl. My hobbies are gardening. My goal is to beat Forehead-girl and claim Sasuke-kun as mine."

'_Oh great, a fan-girl. I'll have to break her out of it._' Kurenai thought, as she looked towards Shikamaru to continue.

"Uhh… Mendoukusei… I'm Nara Shikamaru. I like playing shougi. I dislike doing anything else."

'Hmm… lazy as expected. I'll have to work on that.'

"You next, Naruto." she said.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I love ramen and training. I hate perverts, bigots, and judgmental people. I hate people who hurt children. I also hate people who receive everything on a silver platter and then act arrogant about it. *coughcoughSasukecough*…"

Kurenai's lips twitched in amusement, and Shikamaru said, "Uhh… mendoukusei… can you be any more direct." Ino was about to yell but Kurenai stopped her by raising her hand.

Naruto grinned and continued, "I used to love pranking, but I guess I've grown out of it. I suck at taijutsu, but I'm planning to take up kenjutsu to make up for it. I guess I dislike sexists too, but I've never been at the receiving end of it so I don't really know. My aim is to become one of the strongest shinobi in the elemental nations, and eventually become the Hokage. I also wish to show people that I'm the bag, not the rock."

When he finished Shikamaru looked deep in thought and Ino snorted.

Kurenai just smiled as she thought, '_Hmm… he does seem to be growing up, like Hokage-sama said._' She then looked at Ino and said, "You want to say something, Ino?"

Ino replied, "It's not like he can beat Sasuke-kun."

Kurenai frowned and said, "Really? Tell me, Ino, why do you like Uchiha Sasuke?"

Ino blushed as she said, "Umm… because he is handsome, smart, mysterious, and understanding."

Naruto snorted and said, "Really? When was the last time he said something kind, or behaved in an understanding manner, with you or any one else?"

"SHUT UP, NARUTO!!"

"I'll shut up once you answer the question." Naruto replied calmly.

Ino was about to answer when she just stopped. She was trying to come up with an answer, but she realized that he was right in what he was implying. She didn't say anything.

"Thought so…" Naruto simply said.

The food arrived and they began eating silently. When they had finished, Kurenai continued the conversation saying, "Well… now that we've eaten, let's walk to training ground 8 to have your test."

"Test?" asked Naruto.

"You see, the academy exam is just to see whether or not you have the basic skills required to become a ninja. The real test is administered by the allotted jounins. You'll either become an official team and begin taking missions, or be sent back to the academy depending upon the outcome of this test."

"Mendoukusei…" said Shikamaru.

"That's not fair…" whined Naruto with a pout.

Ino looked nervous.

They made their way towards the ground. Upon arriving, Kurenai placed an alarm clock on the ground and set it to go off after an hour. She said, "Your objective for this test is to injure me. I'll try to protect myself. You have one hour. Begin."

Then she made some hand signs and disappeared.

The trio just stood there looking at each other.

After a while of thinking Shikamaru began, "We'll have to work together if we want to injure her. She _is_ a jounin. I don't think any of us can take her on individually. Ino, dispel the genjutsu and try to look for her. Naruto, you attack her head on and try to distract her. I'll try to trap her."

That said, for the next hour Ino repeatedly dispelled the genjutsu and pointed in the direction she last saw Kurenai. Naruto made a couple of kage bunshins and attacked her, while Shikamaru tried to trap her with his shadow.

--== ( 1 Hour later ) ==--

The three students sat on the ground panting as the alarm went off and Kurenai revealed herself.

Naruto and Ino looked downcast, and Shikamaru had a neutral expression on his face.

She looked at them with a smile and said, "Not bad. You pass."

All three heads shot up at this and Ino said, "But we didn't injure you."

Kurenai replied, "True, but the main objective behind giving you this test was to see whether or not you can work together as a team. The three of you did that wonderfully. I didn't expect you to be able to hurt me anyways. If you had, I wouldn't know whether to be amazed at your skill, or be disappointed with my own. Like Shikamaru said in the beginning, I _am_ a jounin, you know."

"You heard the plan?" asked Naruto.

"Of course I did. I was standing right next to you, under a genjutsu."

"That's cheating…"

"Sure, but like I said, the objective was not to hurt me."

"But still…" he whined.

"Do you WANT to hurt me?"

"NO! I mean, of course not."

"Good then." She said with a smile.

"Now that you've passed, we are now officially Team 8. We will begin taking missions from tomorrow…"

"ALRIGHT!!" cheered Naruto. Shikamaru smirked. Ino looked pleased.

"Now, we'll meet here everyday at 9 AM. We will begin our day by training till lunch. After that we will do 2 D rank missions a day. We'll be doing D rank missions until I deem you ready for higher ranked missions. You're free to go. Naruto, stay back for a bit."

The other two turned and left. Once they were out of sight Naruto turned towards Kurenai and said "What can I do for you, Kurenai-sensei?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Sure, Kurenai-sensei"

"You need not refer to me as 'sensei' when we are alone, Naruto, seeing that we have known each other since before we became a team, and that I'm not teaching you anything at the moment."

"Okay, Kurenai-chan"

Kurenai smiled and asked, "What's with the '-chan'?"

"Betsuni (Just like that)… If you mind, I won't call you that… I just…"

"Its okay, Naruto. I don't mind." She cut him off with a smile.

"So, how are you, Naruto? After yesterday, I mean."

"I'm fine... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you choose me?" he asked with uncertainty.

"What do you mean?"

"Hokage-jiji told me that you specifically requested for me to be on the team. Why would you want me on your team? I think that if anyone requests for a specific person, they would ask for the topper or something." He muttered the last part, but she heard it.

"Hmm… The reason I chose you and not a topper is that I would rather work with someone willing to work hard, than with an arrogant prick… People expected me to make a different type of team - A recon team. A team consisting purely of members with tracking or spying abilities. The team that we have now is very balanced in terms of functions. I'm trying to make a team which can perform well on any kind of mission. All of our abilities complement each other perfectly. Shikamaru is a strategist. He can also use his shadows to subdue people. Ino can use her clan jutsus to interrogate any prisoners we may take. And lastly, you. Tell me Naruto, what will happen to a team, which specializes only in tracking and spying, when it faces off against a strong opponent?"

"Uhh…"

"They will lose. They will be weak in combat, having always trained for reconnaissance... You will be the fighter of the group. Your personality and disposition is that of a fighter. It will be your job to fight against the opponents that are too strong for your teammates. It will be your job to protect your teammates and me."

"But you're a jounin, and I'm a genin."

"True. But being a jounin does not make me a God, Naruto. Even the best of us make mistakes at times. There are hundreds of scenarios where I would need additional help. I could be injured, or tired, or whatever."

She paused for a moment to let Naruto digest her statement completely. Then she continued, "I believe you can be really strong, Naruto. Tell me, will you work hard?... Will you become stronger?... Will you protect your teammates and me if we are ever in danger?... Will you kill, if necessary, to accomplish that?"

Naruto was deep in thought while Kurenai was studying emotions running across his face. She had been observing him throughout the conversation and could see genuine confusion written on his face. She knew that not many people had ever showed him any kind of affection, and when she chose to do it, he couldn't tell why she would want to do that.

She frowned when she though about the way people treated him. From what the Hokage had told her, there hadn't been any physical attacks after his 4th birthday, when a group of civilians were executed by the ANBU on orders of the Hokage, for assaulting Naruto. Yet, the hateful glares and the prejudice rampant in the village would be enough to turn any child into a criminal.

She figured that the people were too afraid of the Kyuubi to think rationally. Why else would they not see the difference between the prison and the prisoner, she reasoned.

She smiled as his face morphed into a determined expression, and killing intent exploded out of him. It wasn't very strong, but the message was clear. He would cut through anyone who would dare to harm him or his team.

They just sat there for a while in comfortable silence until Kurenai decided to lighten the mood saying, "So tell me, Naruto, did you really barge into Hokage-sama's office naked?"

"NANI??!! He told you THAT??" he exclaimed while his face went beet red.

Kurenai saw his reaction and burst into laughter, which made his face turn into an even deeper shade of red, and he muttered something about senile old men who have been Hokage for far too long.

--== ( Time Skip: A few hours later ) ==--

Naruto had become quite serious about being a good shinobi. He decided to head towards the library to do a little research about the things he wanted to learn. Now that he had become a genin, the librarian could not turn him away. He ventured into the shinobi section of the library to browse through the books available. He found quite a few books of interest but he noticed that the library was about to close for the day. He found a secluded spot between the shelves and unsealed a huge stack of blank papers and a set of pens. He found a spot to hide the things and covered it up with books. Then he proceeded to create 20 clones which transformed themselves into random books. He left the library after ensuring that everything was in place.

About an hour after the library closed, the clones dropped the henge and began picking out books to read. Each of the clones took a few papers to prepare notes about what they read.

--== ( Time Skip: Next morning at 6 AM ) ==--

Naruto groaned as his alarm went off. He freshened up and jogged lightly towards the library which was about to open.

Meanwhile, at the library, the clones noticed that the library was to open in another 30 minutes. They finished what they were doing, and noted down the pages where they stopped. One clone collected the notes from all others while the rest kept the books back in order. Then they proceeded to disperse one at a time with a gap of 5 seconds between each.

As the real Naruto neared the library, he felt his clones disperse and the flood of information come in. He was awed by the kind of things he now knew. His clones had ended up reading books like 'The Nature of Chakra', 'Chakra control for Dummies', 'Advanced Chakra Control Techniques', 'A Brief History of Konoha', 'Training Techniques', etc. Some of his clones had even ventured into the civilian section and read about architecture, civil engineering, law, etc. He berated himself, as he realized that if he had known all this a few years back, he would have been chuunin by now.

He now understood why he always failed to do the normal bunshin jutsu taught at the academy. His chakra control was pathetic at best. He also realized that it was for the same reason his kage bunshins made noise and released smoke while being created and dispersed. And he knew just how he could increase his chakra control. He knew the proper way to use training weights and the correct exercises for optimum improvements. He also knew the correct requirements in any diet and where he was lacking.

As soon as the library opened, Naruto rushed inside and collected the notes, created by his clones, which were hidden in the same spot where he had left the papers. He sealed his notes in a blank sealing scroll and began some morning exercises.

He then ran 10 laps around Konoha. He had refrained from using his training weights or doing any other exercises so far. He didn't want to take any risks, and planned to do them after he learned more about them.

By the time he finished his laps the time was already 8 AM. He sat in the middle of training ground 8 and went over everything he had read. He knew that all the reading would be useless if he didn't process the information.

--== ( Training Ground 8: 5 minutes before 9 AM ) ==--

Shikamaru and Ino arrived together and greeted him, which he returned and resumed thinking.

"Mendoukusei… sitting and doing nothing is supposed to be my job, Naruto" said Shikamaru.

"Ahh, but I'm not doing 'nothing', Shikamaru. I'm thinking." Naruto replied with a smile.

"Are you taking steps towards being more like the Uchiha?"

"Eugh! That's low man… I'm actually thinking about a place I need to look for."

Ino was about to yell at them when Naruto cut her off saying "I thought we got over this yesterday, Ino. If you really like him, it is none of our business and we won't interfere, but you should understand, that we don't like him and are not going to begin doing so just because of you. If you don't like what we say about him, just ignore the jabs. Fair enough?"

Ino turned a light shade of red in embarrassment, and just nodded.

Naruto created 2 clones which immediately ran into the trees surrounding the ground.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow silently asking him "What are they doing?"

Naruto replied, "I'll tell you if they find what I'm looking for."

Kurenai arrived in a swirl of leaves and greeted them, "Good Morning team."

"Hey, Kurenai-sensei" said Naruto.

"Good Morning, Kurenai sensei" was heard from Ino.

Shikamaru waved lazily.

"Ready to begin training?" she continued.

A collective "Hai" was the reply she received.

"Good. Today we're going to do the tree climbing exercise. It will help you by increasing your chakra control, and over time it will also increase your chakra capacity. What you're supposed to do is focus chakra on the soles of your feet, and use it to stick to the tree trunk. Use too much, and you'll be repelled. Use too little, and you'll slip."

Having said that she gave a demonstration of how it was supposed to be, much to the awe of Shikamaru and Ino. She noticed that Naruto was not surprised and asked him to give the explanation, when Ino asked, "How does it help with those things, Kurenai-sensei?"

"The exercise is done by focusing a certain quantity of chakra to the soles of your feet. As you get proficient in doing this exercise, you'll be able to regulate the amount of chakra you use, for anything, with greater precision, thus increasing your chakra control. An exercise such as this one makes you use your chakra continuously, thus, exhausting you. Your chakra reserves grow when your body recovers from this exhaustion. There are better exercises to increase your chakra reserves, but this one is good for starting off." Naruto explained.

Kurenai gave him an approving smile. Shikamaru merely raised an eyebrow, while Ino looked surprised.

"How do you know all that?" asked Ino.

"Library." He replied.

Shikamaru merely said, "Mendoukusei."

Ino said, "Since when do you go to the library and study?"

"Since yesterday..." Naruto replied with a grin.

Ino couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Kurenai ordered them to start.

Having read about the exercise in two different books, Naruto started practicing it using the shortcuts and tips from the 'Chakra Control for Dummies' book.

A few hours later Ino was the only one who has successfully completed the exercise. She had nearly perfect chakra control due to her small chakra reserves. Shikamaru and Naruto were able to do it most of the times, but needed more practice.

They had their lunch before going to get their first mission.

--== ( Forest of Death ) ==--

Meanwhile, the two clones that Naruto had created were traversing the Forest of Death. Naruto knew about the forest from the history book his clone had read. The forest was called that only because of the dark and gloomy atmosphere and the occasional wild animal. The forest cover was thick enough to prevent sunlight from ever reaching the ground. That resulted in a mist like formation floating above the forest floor, with wet moss like plants growing everywhere. It was perfect for animals like snakes and other predators.

The forest had an abandoned tower right in the centre. It was not in any usable condition. His clones came across a large clearing about half way between the forest edge and the tower. It was one of the very few spots in the forest where the sky was actually visible. The clearing was large enough to contain a medium sized house and a small training field. There was even a clear water river which flowed right through the area.

Naruto had originally sent his clones into the forest to look for a secret training ground, but upon seeing the clearing, he couldn't help but think about building a new home for himself. He was tired of the grouchy land lord, and the sub-standard services provided to him. He also realized that he would need more space than what his small flat provided. The clearing was perfect for his requirements, but he couldn't begin using it until he could confirm his safety there. It would not bode well for him to be attacked by a wild animal or a ninja while he slept. Not many ventured into the forest according to what he had read, but it never hurt to take precautions. It would only be too easy for the occasional wayward ninja to attack him in the middle of the forest.

The clones scouted the area around the clearing and dispersed, sending all the information back to the real Naruto.

--== ( That Evening - 5:30 PM ) ==--

Team 8 had finished their 2 missions for the day and gone their way after saying their good byes. Naruto hurried to the library and repeated the previous day's trick.

He then returned to training ground 8 and created 100 clones of himself. Once the smoke had dispersed, he said, "Okay… pick a tree and start working on the tree climbing exercise."

There was no point in sending a part of them to do other chakra control exercises until they had mastered at least the tree walking and water walking exercises. It was the same with ninjutsu. He didn't want to learn ninjutsu the wrong way by forcing his chakra to make it work and then fine tune the technique. His first priority was to have the chakra control down.

While the clones were concentrating on the chakra control, the real Naruto began his physical exercises. Physical changes could not be transferred from the clones. Hence making the clones do any physical exercises would be pointless.

He attached 2 pound weights to each of his limbs, and on his waist. The difference was not much, but according to what he had read, the trick to prevent injuries was to gradually increase the weight, and spread it out, over his body, as evenly as possible.

He began running 10 laps around Konoha. Once done, he proceeded to do 50 push ups, 50 pull ups, 50 squats, and 50 crunches.

Meanwhile, his clones were trying out various things, on the trees, like standing upside down, running on the trunk, jumping between one tree and another, standing stationary, etc.

By the time he was done with the physical exercises, it was already 8 PM. He decided to call it a day and proceeded towards Ichiraku's Ramen to have dinner. He commanded his clones to continue the tree walking for 2 more hours and then disperse gradually.

He had decided to indulge in ramen one last time before he shifted to having a balanced diet. He wasn't planning on quitting ramen. Just regulate its consumption.

--== ( The next morning ) ==--

He repeated his early morning activities and waited silently for his team to arrive while he thought over all that he had learned that night. He had directed his clones to learn more about construction techniques, hand seals, and ninjutsu. He wanted to know how hand seals were used to mould chakra as required, and how ninjutsu worked. Ninjutsu techniques had always interested him. It was only now that he was actually doing something about it.

Once his team arrived, Kurenai said, "Now that we're all here, I want you to resume the tree-walking exercise."

Shikamaru and Ino began the exercise, while Naruto walked up to Kurenai and said, "I'm done with the tree walking, Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? How about a short demonstration then?", thinking that he was just being lazy.

"Sure" Naruto replied before he picked a tree close by and walked up the trunk, then jumped between trees, and finally stopped upside down looking at Kurenai expectantly.

Both of Kurenai's eyebrows were now raised, while her lips formed an 'O'. She asked, "How did you do that?"

"I practiced after we left yesterday."

Kurenai was impressed, but she was also confused. She thought '_The level of improvement is amazing. But he must have worked for a really long time to be this natural at it._'

"What time did you go home, Naruto?"

"9:30 PM, why?"

"Why so late? You didn't have to finish the exercise in one day, you know."

"Well… its not like I have anyone at home waiting for me anyways… so I thought I might as well get some practice."

Kurenai frowned slightly and realized that most other children had their families or clans to go to, and activities like clan duties to occupy their time. Naruto didn't. She didn't want him to become some sort of training freak and decided to occasionally spend some time with him to keep him company.

"Do you want to move on to other exercises, or do you wish to wait for the others to finish this one?" she asked.

'_Hmm… I don't want to get too far ahead of the others and put pressure on them. I might as well wait. I can make up for any lost time using kage bunshins anyways._' He thought as he replied "I'll wait for them."

She smiled on hearing that and they sat on the ground making small talk while the other two practiced. After a while of talking, Naruto asked her to explain to him the leaf hovering exercise. Seeing that it could be done without having to move, and that she was not planning to teach that to the other two, since it was an academy level exercise, she explained how it worked. Naruto practiced for a bit without success. Deciding that he would have to spend more time on it later, they began discussing the various chakra control techniques.

--== ( 2 hours later ) ==--

Kurenai looked at the other two walking up and down the trees and was satisfied with what she saw. She said, "All right you two. Take a 10 minutes break. I want you to continue doing this exercise in your free time at home. After the break we'll begin the water walking exercises."

The two came down panting slightly and sat near them.

"How the hell did you learn so fast man?" asked Shikamaru.

"Umm… I practiced all evening yesterday."

"Mendoukusei…"

Ino sat silently throughout the conversation thinking about how much Naruto had changed in the last few days. A few days back he was a carefree loudmouthed idiot who always seemed cheery and energetic. The new Naruto was cool, calm, and collected. He wore good clothes, trained after hours, studied in the library, and didn't pester their sensei for jutsus like she had seen him do with Iruka, a couple of times.

After the break, Kurenai led them to a lake nearby to teach them water-walking.

--== ( That evening ) ==--

After completing their 2 missions for the day the group had a light snack at the local dango shop after which Shikamaru and Ino left.

Kurenai turned to Naruto and asked, "Are you going to train now, Naruto?"

"Yeah. I don't have anything else to do."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Of course not, Kurenai-chan. I'd love the company actually. It gets quite boring all alone. I need to go to the library for a couple of minutes before I train. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Let's go."

Kurenai looked at him, intrigued, as he repeated his usual task at the library.

"I don't get time to read during the day, so I keep a few clones at the library all night. They read books and make notes of all the interesting things for me. So I learn even when I sleep." He explained as they walked towards the training ground.

Kurenai was somewhere between shocked and impressed. She said "So you're getting notes of highly filtered and specific information, without actually investing any time to make them, which you can read as you please and understand the whole subject."

"Umm… not really. The notes are just for future reference. I usually just stack them by subject and store them. I haven't spent any time yet in reading them."

"So then why make them?"

"Like I said… future reference. So that I can refer to them if I forget a detail or something about the subject…"

Kurenai was feeling lost. She began to say, "But you haven't actually studied the subject…" and then gasped as she continued, "don't tell me…"

"I remember everything my clones do. I thought you knew that…" He answered her unasked question with a smile.

By this time they had arrived at the ground. Naruto pumped more chakra, compared to the previous day, and created around 150 clones. He needed to learn more control before he could create the exact number of clones he wanted.

Kurenai looked at the number of clones with interest and barely repressed awe. It was an amazing feat to be able to make so many.

"Alright you guys…" he commanded, "I want 50 practicing the leaf hovering on various parts of your body. Once you have that down, try spinning the leaf in various directions at will. After that, move on to multiple leaves. If by chance you finish that too, then repeat it while tree walking. I want the remaining clones to work on water walking."

"No wonder you got the tree walking exercise so fast. This is amazing. The potential is nearly limitless…" she said as she poked a clone that was standing close by. The clone just whined, "HEY!!"

She grinned as she did it again. The clone just turned to her and poked his tongue out at her, much to her amusement.

"It's almost like cheating…" she said after a few minutes.

"Hey, the Uchihas have their sharingan which allows them to copy jutsus. The Hyuugas have their byakugan which allows them to see their opponents' entire chakra network. I have this. I suppose, as ninjas we must use every method or skill available to us as a medium to accomplish our goals. Be it getting stronger, or completing missions."

She couldn't refute the logic in that, and merely nodded.

"You mind waiting here, while I do my laps?" he asked her.

"No. Go ahead."

He proceeded to do his 10 laps while she sat on the ground and observed the clones doing the water walking exercise. She gave tips to the clone nearest to her. The clone cheered as he finally understood how to do it correctly. He practiced for a few more minutes and then dispersed. She was amazed as she saw the other clones receive the information and use it.

Once done with the laps, he did his remaining exercises and talked to her at the same time.

He wrapped up for the day at 8, and washed off the sweat in the lake. Then he turned to Kurenai and said, "Would you like to join me for dinner, Kurenai-chan?"

She agreed, seeing that she was rather enjoying their conversation, and that she hadn't cooked anything for herself, that day.

They walked towards a local restaurant for dinner, leaving his clones to continue their exercises.

--== ( The next day ) ==--

Naruto now had a better understanding of hand seals, and how Ninjutsu worked. And now that he could do the tree walking and water walking exercises perfectly, he was ready to start learning ninjutsu.

Once Shikamaru and Ino were at a satisfactory level at water walking, Kurenai decided to teach them about battle tactics and team formations. It was more of a discussion, and the group just sat in the shade talking about the pros and cons of various formations and tactics.

After lunch, they took their missions for the day. Even though it was only the third day, the trio was already sick of the lame chores they had to do in the name of missions. When they voiced their opinion, Kurenai replied "Just think of these missions as a way to make some extra money while you train to take on higher ranked missions. I wish to spend at least a few months training before we take any C ranked missions."

They could not refute the logic in that and did the 'missions' silently, albeit grudgingly.

That evening Naruto unsealed the notebook in which he had copied the jutsus from the forbidden scroll, and read through it. Then he gathered a large amount of chakra and created kage bunshins. He ended up with around 500 clones.

"Alright… I want 50 clones to practice the leaf hovering and leaf spinning exercise with as many leaves as possible. Once you are done with that, you'll proceed to do that and tree walking simultaneously. I want 50 to do the same leaf exercises but couple it up with water walking. I want 50 to work on the Shuriken Kage Bunshin, 50 on Kunai Kage Bunshin, 50 on Bunshin Bakuha. I want the remaining clones to do the Kunai based chakra control exercise."

The kunai based chakra control exercise was a multiple step, advanced chakra control technique in which the user first tried to float a kunai on his palm. Once that was mastered, the next step was to try to spin the kunai, much like the leaf exercise, the difference being in the weight of the object used. Once the user had the spinning down the next step was to float the kunai with the blade pointing down. This was more difficult because of the reduced surface area at the tip of the kunai. The same process could then be repeated with the kunai positioned above the finger tips, and with multiple kunais.

The real Naruto proceeded with his physical exercises.

--== ( The next morning ) ==--

Some of his clones had entered the chuunin section of the library the previous night, and made notes on elemental manipulation. He wanted to learn some elemental ninjutsu, and the correct way to go about it was to get a hang of converting his chakra into the respective elements first. He decided to do that in the evening as he saw his team arrive.

The group continued the discussion of tactics from the previous day for the first two hours. Then they had sparring sessions with taijutsu only. Shikamaru went up against Ino, while Naruto took on Kurenai.

During lunch that day Kurenai said, "We won't be doing any missions today, and I'll not be available for a week starting tomorrow."

"Mendoukusei…"

"Where are you going, Kurenai-sensei?" asked Ino.

"I'm going on a mission." Said Kurenai.

"What kind of mission?" asked Naruto.

"Can't tell you. Its classified."

Naruto nodded and said, "Be careful."

Kurenai smiled and said, "As always."

The trio decided to meet directly when Kurenai returned, and went their separate ways.

That evening Naruto allotted 100 clones to the leaf splitting exercise and another 100 to the basic flame generation exercise. The objective of the leaf splitting exercise was to split a leaf by focusing his chakra into his palm, converting it into a blade made of wind, and using it to cut the leaf into two. The objective of the flame generation exercise was to convert his chakra into a small fireball which floated on his palm. 100 clones worked on the kage bunshin complementary jutsus, and another 200 clones were doing the kunai chakra control exercises.

He spent the week focusing solely on perfecting the Shuriken Kage Bunshin, Kunai Kage Bunshin, Bunshin Bakuha, and chakra control, as he had nothing else to do.

--== ( Time Skip: 1 month later ) ==--

Naruto had, with the help of his clones, increased his chakra control tremendously. He was through with the kunai chakra control exercises individually and in conjunction with the tree walking and water walking exercises. He had mastered the jutsus that he had copied from the forbidden scroll. He had also succeeded in converting his chakra to wind natured and fire natured at will.

He had read various books dealing with ninjutsu, hand seals, chakra control, chakra usage, and elemental manipulation. He had also read quite a few books on subjects not related to shinobi training, such as architecture, construction techniques and best practices, law, history, accounting, business, and economics.

His chakra capacity and stamina had also improved. He was now using 10 pounds weights on his limbs and waist.

He had decided to finally start learning elemental ninjutsu. His clones had prepared a jutsu bank for him consisting of all jutsus found in the genin and chuunin sections of the library.

All the research and reading was causing him other problems. He didn't have nearly the space required to properly maintain all his notes. For now, they were just stuffed inside sealing scrolls. He decided to visit the Hokage to talk about the land he had scouted a month back.

--== ( Hokage's office ) ==--

"Hey jiji"

The old man looked up and smiled, saying, "Hello Naruto. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, jiji. How are you?"

"I am well. How is your training coming up?"

"Quite well, actually. I'm ready to start off with elemental ninjutsu."

Naruto had discussed his training plan with the old man when Kurenai had been on the mission. The old man had been quite impressed with the plan Naruto had come up with, and had approved.

"Excellent. What about your other teammates?"

"Ino has been working on her chakra capacity and clan jutsus. Shikamaru has learnt quite a few clan jutsus as well. His chakra capacity has also increased, but not by much. He is still too lazy to train harder than his current pace, but its okay I guess."

"Very good. Don't worry about Shikamaru. If he is anything like his father, he'll get serious sooner or later and become much stronger than he already is."

"Yeah."

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What? Can't I just visit you because I missed you?" said Naruto with a grin.

The Hokage chuckled and said "Come now, Naruto, I know you better than that. You wouldn't take an appointment for just a social visit."

"Hmm… I want to move out of my current apartment. Its too small, has almost no privacy or security, and the landlord is a pain in the ass, and I don't get any decent services."

"Hmm… that can be arranged. Do you have any new apartment in mind?"

"Actually I wanted to build my own house."

"Oh?" said the Hokage in surprise.

"Yeah. I actually need a lot of space, and a small garden would be nice. Plus the privacy I can get in my own house will be good."

"Land for such a place will be quite expensive, Naruto."

"I know. But I've already picked a piece of land that interests me. And it is, currently, not being used for anything. Plus, thanks to the location, I don't think it'll cost much."

"Where?"

"The Forest of Death."

"What?" the old man exclaimed.

"Yeah. There is a medium sized clearing about 5 KM north of gate 3 that's just perfect for what I've planned. My first preference was the top of the Hokage Monument with its wonderful view, but it is too open. I need something more secluded."

"But why the forest? Why not somewhere in the city?"

"You know how it is, jiji. I can't live in peace in the city. And like you said, the kind of land I need would be too expensive in the city. Plus the privacy of the forest is second to none."

"But it's so secluded. Not to mention, dangerous."

"That's where I need your help too. I need to know how I can protect my home. I know that some of the clan mansions are protected using seals and the like. I need something like that for my home too, but more advanced."

"That's assuming that I am going to let you live there."

Naruto smiled and said "How long have I known you, jiji? The only reason you're talking to me about it is because you see no harm in letting me live there. If there was no way you'd let me have that land, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place."

The Hokage chuckled then said in a serious tone, "True. But my concern is that you're trying to distance yourself from the villagers."

"I just need a place where I can relax and be myself, you know? A place where I don't have to be on guard all the time."

The old man was silent for a while and said, "Alright, Naruto. I'll give you the land. But you know I can't just _give_ it to you. You'll have to pay for the land at the standard land rates. Do you have that kind of money, Naruto?"

"Can I make the payment in installments?"

"I'm sure I can arrange that. I'll have a deed prepared in a few days. Can you show me the land?"

"Sure, are you free right now?"

"Yes. Let's go."

--== ( The Forest of Death ) ==--

Naruto and the Hokage stood in the middle of the clearing checking it out.

"How _did_ you find this place, anyways?"

"I read about the forest in a history book. It intrigued me, so I sent a couple of clones to scout it out. They came across this clearing, and it seemed perfect for some secluded training. The idea just kept building up from there."

"What kind of protection are you looking for?"

"Everything. Nothing goes in or out apart from the ones I allow access to. Something like a chakra barrier. I also want another barrier that will prevent any creature, like animals or insects, from entering. But, at the same time, I want the ability to add exceptions to it so in the future if I decide to keep a pet or something, it can come in or go out freely. Lastly, I was hoping that we can have a genjutsu covering the area which will hide the property. These are just ideas. I need your take, on them."

"Hmm… not bad… I'll have to go through some books, but I can help you out I think."

"Great. Thanks jiji. You're the best."

"What about the contractors? Do you have any in mind?"

"I'm going to build it myself."

"Really? And since when do you know how to build houses?"

"Since last month... What I don't have is the experience, but I'll learn as I begin building."

The Hokage chuckled and said, "You really surprise me sometimes, Naruto."

They made their way back to the office, and Naruto left for his evening training session.

--== ( That evening ) ==--

He created 400 clones and gave them the commands.

"I want 250 to start working on chakra strings. I want 50 to work on Fuuton: Daitoppa, 50 on Fuuton: Goukuuhou, and 50 on Fuuton: Reppushou."

Then he proceeded with his physical exercises.

A while later, when he was about to wrap up for the night, he felt a presence approach the training ground. He could tell that the chakra was familiar, but he still wasn't skilled enough at chakra sensing to tell who it was.

Soon, the person in question came into view, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Kurenai-chan."

"Hey Naruto. I see you've started your elemental training."

"Hai."

Kurenai had taken to having dinner with Naruto sometimes, especially when her friend Anko was out on missions. She had discovered that she rather enjoyed the company of her friends during dinner, as opposed to her previous habit of eating alone.

Naruto wrapped up for the day, and the duo left for dinner. During dinner Naruto told her about the Hokage agreeing to give him the land he asked for. He had told her, of his plan to move, a few weeks earlier. Though she agreed with his logic in choosing the place, she still didn't like the fact that he was moving away from the city.

They spent the next hour arguing about the pros and cons of moving to the forest.

--== ( 1 Month Later ) ==--

Naruto had spent the last month learning D and C ranked wind jutsus. He had also taught himself to create and use chakra strings. The chakra string exercises were a set of chakra control exercises, in which, the user molded his chakra in the form of thin strings which began at the user's fingers and attached to some object. The user could then move the object around by manipulating the chakra flowing through the 'strings'. Naruto had read about ninjas who used puppets as weapons and manipulated them using chakra strings. What started out as a chakra control routine soon became a fun exercise for him, when he realized the usefulness of the technique in battle.

He had also learned to use chakra strings without the use of his fingers. He could simply emit a string of chakra from any part of his body. It required beyond kage level chakra control, but like Kurenai had pointed out once, the potential in learning with kage bunshins was limitless.

He had also spent time in building his new home. His clones had increased the size of the clearing by cutting down some trees surrounding the clearing. He had used the wood for making the furniture. The stone for the construction had come from the forest itself. He bought whatever he couldn't make on his own. He had helped the Hokage surround the clearing with state of the art seals to protect the home and its inhabitants.

It had taken 200 clones the entire month to finally finish the home along with the furniture and the interiors.

That day the team had decided to take an off from doing their customary D ranked missions and visit Naruto's new home.

--== ( Gate 3: Edge of Forest of Death ) ==--

The team arrived at gate 3 and looked into the forest to see only darkness.

"You live in there?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah."

"Mendoukusei."

"Why did you choose to live in… this forest?" Ino asked.

"I like the privacy. Let's go."

The group entered the forest and proceeded towards the clearing at chakra enhanced speed. Kurenai had taught them how to use chakra to increase the speed of their running. Once they closed in on the site, the three apart from Naruto had an overwhelming urge to go back.

Kurenai recognized the genjutsu immediately and proceeded to release it, but when she did, the feeling didn't leave.

She turned towards Naruto and began, "Why..." and suddenly stopped as her eyes widened.

Ino and Shikamaru looked towards Kurenai, and Ino asked, "What is it, Kurenai-sensei?"

She was still staring at Naruto with wide eyes.

Naruto grinned widely as he realized what she was thinking and said, "Seal based genjutsu…"

"What's that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Seal based genjutsu is the most difficult and most obscure branch of genjutsu. The illusion is fabricated into a seal and placed at the location where you want the genjutsu to work. It's a location based genjutsu, the best part of which is that it affects an area instead of a person. So it is impossible to release it as long as you are in the affected area." She answered with awe clearly evident in her voice.

"Where the hell did you get this?" she asked, looking towards Naruto.

Naruto was still grinning widely, knowing the extent of her love for genjutsu and said, "I have my sources…"

"Oh come on… tell me…"

"I'm sorry. I can't. I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone."

Kurenai looked like somebody killed her puppy. She simply said "I understand…. I guess."

They proceeded towards the clearing once again and entered it once Naruto had keyed the three of them into the barrier.

As soon as they entered the barrier all of their jaws dropped, except Naruto's.

The clearing had been transformed into a beautiful grass field, with a stream of water flowing through it, and an above average sized house at its center. Needless to say, the other three were amazed by the scene. The house itself was a two storied structure. It had a living room, a kitchen, a master bedroom, and 4 guest rooms. It also had a huge library in which quite a few files were arranged containing Naruto's notes separated on the basis of topics. The library also had the latest copy of bingo books from every village.

--== ( That evening: Hokage's office ) ==--

"Hey jiji."

"Hello, Naruto. What can I do for you?"

"I actually needed a favor…"

"Hmm? What kind of favor?"

"Umm… you remember the book you showed me, with all the seal based genjutsu in it?"

The book in question, titled 'Genjutsu: Basics of Seal based illusions', was a part of the Hokage library, and not available to the general public because of the rare nature of the information. The old man had 3 copies of the book which were just being kept there.

"Yeah. What about it?" asked the Hokage.

"Umm… could I have one copy?"

The Hokage said, "I told you about the rare nature of those books, Naruto. If you want, I'll let you study those books in here."

"Uhh… no. You see…" began Naruto.

"Yes?"

"Kurenai-ch… I mean, Kurenai-sensei's birthday is coming up and I wanted to gift it to her." He said with a slight blush, which he was desperately trying to hide.

The Hokage, of course, caught it and smiled internally.

"I can't give you the book permanently, Naruto. But I can allow you to give it to her temporarily, for lets say 3 months. I'll let her study the book, and make whatever notes she needs, as long as she promises to never share the information with anyone except her immediate family. She should not let anyone even know that she has the book. How is that?"

"Excellent. Thanks jiji."

The Hokage chuckled and said, "Anytime Naruto, but for this you're going to owe me one."

"Of course, jiji." Said Naruto, chuckling.

With that he collected the book from the library, hid it inside a paper bag, and left the office.

--== ( A few days later: June 11 ) ==--

That morning, at a little before 9 AM, Naruto was patiently waiting for his team to arrive.

To Naruto's surprise Kurenai arrived first. Naruto greeted her saying, "Happy Birthday, Kurenai-chan."

"Thank you, Naruto. How did you know?"

"I have my sources…" he said with a grin.

Kurenai sighed exasperatedly as she recognized his reply from a few days back, but didn't say anything.

They made some small talk till the rest of the team arrived. Once they were all there, she began their lessons for the day. That day, the lunch was on her. After lunch, they proceeded with their usual schedule.

That evening, Naruto finished his training and went towards Kurenai's apartment only to find it empty. She figured she must be out partying with her other friends. He knew the window that belonged to her apartment, and decided to surprise her. He climbed up the building and got to the window. He had to be very careful, lest someone see him and accuse him of being a thief.

He picked the lock with a small pin from his storage pouch and entered her bedroom. He looked around and liked the room instantly. It was a moderately sized room with a single bed, a working table, a bookshelf filled with books, and some pictures hanging on the walls. The bed sheets complemented the color of the room perfectly, and everything seemed to be in perfect order.

He placed the book, wrapped in a red silk cloth tied using a thin pale pink ribbon, on her pillow. On it he placed a small note written by him, and left the room, closing the window behind him.

--== ( That night ) ==--

Kurenai returned home, tired, after a long party. She was sick of men asking her out all the time. This party had been no different. She would have preferred something more private, with only her closest of friends present, but the party had been organized by her friends, and they had invited almost every jounin and quite a few chuunins to the party.

She entered her bedroom and immediately spotted the package kept on her pillow. She checked the windows and door locks. Everything was intact. Nothing seemed to be missing either. She then checked the package without touching either it or the note attached to it.

Deciding that it was safe, she opened the note and immediately recognized Naruto's handwriting.

'_Why the hell would Naruto break into my apartment?_' she thought.

She began reading the note.

_Kurenai-chan,_

_I've been waiting for a couple of days now, to give this to you._

_Unfortunately, I cannot give it to you permanently. You'll have to return it after 3 months._

_You are free to study it, make notes, or practice. But there are a few rules. You cannot tell anyone about the information you find in here except your immediate family, and you cannot tell anyone that you even have this. For others, this does not even exist._

_Happy Birthday, Kurenai-chan._

_I hope you like your present._

_P.S.: Please don't kill me for breaking and entering in to your apartment._

Kurenai was quite a pleasantly surprised with the note as she had not expected a present from any of her students. She chuckled when she read the last part of the note.

She could tell, from the note, that the present was some sort of book. But the secrecy required was confusing her. She couldn't understand why a book would warrant this kind of secrecy.

She unwrapped the present and let the cloth slide off the book. Her eyes grew wide as she read the title. She picked up the book with shaking hands, revering it. She opened it immediately and began to read, her tiredness instantly forgotten.

--== ( The next morning ) ==--

Kurenai arrived to see Naruto waiting for his team to arrive. She immediately engulfed him into a hug squealing, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love it. The book is amazing."

Naruto chuckled despite the fact that he was blushing furiously. There were only so many things in the world that could make Kurenai squeal like a kid. A rare book on genjutsu was one of those things.

Kurenai released him and noticed his blush. She suddenly had an evil urge to tease him. She leaned close to his ear and said in a slow, husky, and sensual voice "I really looove the present, Naruto-kuun. What can I do to thank you for it?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and his face turned into an even deeper shade of red. He stuttered out meekly, "Its okay. You're welcome."

Kurenai chuckled at his reaction. She leaned down and kissed him on his cheek. Naruto looked like he was about to pass out with all the blood flowing to his face. She smiled and took a seat next to him saying, "Thanks a lot for the book, Naruto. I'll take good care of it. Can I ask who it belongs to?"

Naruto regained his bearings and said, "I'm glad you liked it, Kurenai-chan. I got it from Hokage-jiji."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Kurenai leaned a bit and smacked Naruto on the back of his head lightly saying, "That is for breaking and entering into my apartment."

Naruto just grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head saying "Ah… gomen."

They proceeded with the rest of the day as usual, when their other two teammates arrived.

--== ( End of chapter 2 ) ==--


End file.
